


30 Day McDanno Challenge - 2015 Edition

by stellarmeadow



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 30-Day Fic Meme, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-03 16:24:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 8,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5298149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarmeadow/pseuds/stellarmeadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Had so much fun doing this last year that I decided to do it again. Of course, I'm already starting out behind, so there may be a day or two where I post two. Hope you enjoy as much as I will! :)</p><p>You can find the whole 30 day list <a href="http://stellarm.tumblr.com/post/132979523885/30-day-mcdanno-challenge-2015">here</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1 - Going Shopping

Danny checked the whole house to make sure Steve wasn't silently lurking somewhere before he opened up Steve's laptop. The guy was practically impossible to buy for, so Danny was hoping maybe, just maybe, he would find some clues in Steve's browser history. It was their first Christmas together--well, _together_ together, and Danny wanted the present to be just right.

And if he stumbled over whatever Steve might be getting him, that was totally an unintended bonus. 

He opened up the browser and went to the search history, finding several results for Amazon and other shopping sites he recognized, as well as few sites he didn't. He clicked on one, blinking a few times at what he found.

"Adam and Eve?" He clicked through the items on the site, a little surprised and a little more turned on than he wanted to admit, even if he wasn't sure how a few of them would even work. 

He clicked on the next site and nearly choked as he saw a life-sized blow up doll. "Okay," Danny said, closing the browser and the laptop and sitting back in the chair, trying to assimilate to his new world view, or at least his new view of Steve.

"You didn't even get to the videos." 

Steve's voice behind him made Danny jump, and he turned in his seat to see Steve leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest, smirking. 

"I...uh...." Danny had been sure Steve was gone. "Where did you come from?"

"Garage," Steve said, his amusement evident in his voice. "Really, I'm disappointed. I found some great videos just waiting for you to sneak onto my computer."

Danny sagged into the chair. "You set me up."

"I figured you'd go looking for hints on your Christmas present," Steve said.

"You figured, did you?"

Steve shrugged. "I know you," he said, before pushing off the wall and heading back towards the garage. "Still a shame about the videos, though," he called over his shoulder before he disappeared from view. 

Danny watched him go, then looked back at the laptop for a long moment. "Fuck it," he said, and opened the laptop back up.

\---  
END


	2. Day 2 - Going to a PTA meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points if you know who Shirley Thompson is....

Steve sat in the passenger seat, tucking his hands under his arms to hide the twitching of his fingers. He would never admit to Danny just how much he hated not being in control of the car--not that Danny didn't know, Steve would just never admit it, even when he was in trouble.

And he was most definitely in trouble.

He'd been watching Danny since they left the school, watching the way the tightness in Danny's mouth relaxed bit by tiny bit. Judging by the current level of tightness, Steve figured he had maybe fifteen to thirty seconds before Danny finally relaxed enough to start ranting.

Seventeen seconds later, at a stoplight, Danny turned his narrowed gaze on Steve. "A marksmanship contest?" 

"Danny, I--"

"Ah ah ah!" Danny said, holding up a finger. "You do not get to speak." The light turned green, and Danny peeled away from it with more force than was really necessary. "I realize that you are somewhat unfamiliar with normal schools," Danny said, "since you clearly were part of some secret military school from birth."

"I was not--" 

One look from Danny silenced Steve again. "However," Danny continued, "you should at least be smart enough to know that a marksmanship contest is not a good idea for a fundraiser. Nor," Danny said quickly, "are survival training and selling MRE kits! Please, Steven, tell me that you are aware of these facts."

He looked at Steve expectantly. After a few seconds, Steve said, "Oh, I'm sorry, am I allowed to speak now?"

"Yes!"

"Danny, we live on an island--MRE kits are always a good thing to have around in case of outages or--"

"Not for kids to go selling as a fundraiser, Steven!"

"And teenagers should learn some rudimentary survival skills--what's wrong with getting parents to pay for it as a fundraiser? You never know when they might break down in a remote area with no cell service and--"

"That's it, I'm never letting Grace go anywhere on this island alone when she gets her license," Danny said. "But we're getting off topic. Do you know what is on topic, Steven?"

Steve waited a second before answering. "Um...fundraisers?"

"Yes. Fundraisers. Please, would you tell me why after suggesting all of these ridiculous ideas, you suddenly caved when you were asked to man a kissing booth?"

"I didn't exactly cave--"

"Like a wet box!"

"Danny, I suggested all those other ideas as alternatives trying to avoid the kissing booth!"

Danny took a few deep breaths, letting them out in quick huff each time. "You could have refused."

"I tried. And then Shirley Thompson started accusing me of not caring about Grace's well-being, and--"

"Oh yes, Shirley Thompson, who's been ogling you since you walked into the first meeting last month?" Danny hit the gas pedal a little harder, and Steve tried to decide if the argument was worth finally getting Danny to drive at a decent speed. "That woman manipulated you--"

"I couldn't very well have them all think that I didn't care about Grace, Danny," Steve said. "What was I supposed to do, point out that she was manipulating me? Then you'd be yelling at me for being rude."

"At least I wouldn't have to stand there and watch half the mothers of Grace's friends kissing you all day!"

"Only half?" Steve said before he could stop himself.

Danny's glare kept Steve from saying anything else. "I think," Danny said slowly, "that maybe we should trade off. You take half the shift, I'll take the other half."

Steve imagined standing there and watching women line up to kiss Danny. "I don't think that'll be necessary," Steve said. "I think I feel a case of strep throat coming on."

"Oh, in that case, I guess I'll have to take the whole shift then," Danny said with enough false sweetness to give Steve a toothache. "Wouldn't want people thinking I didn't care about Grace."

"Danny, if I get strep throat, there's an excellent chance you'll get it as well."

Danny glanced over, the tension around his mouth completely gone, and that light that Steve loved so much back in his eyes. "That would be a shame," Danny said. 

"Maybe we should nominate Shirley Thompson to take our place," Steve said.

Danny laughed. "I think that would be the last time she tried to manipulate you."

"So you agree?"

"I think that's the only good idea you've had all night, babe."

\---  
END


	3. Day 3 - Celebrating an Anniversary

Danny's eyes widened as they pulled up to the restaurant. Steve's nice clothes--or at least what passed for nice by his weird island rules--made more sense now. 

"We start going to more places like this," Danny said, as he opened the car door, "I might have to go back to wearing ties."

"Please don't," Steve said, as he joined Danny on the walk up to the front door.

To Danny's surprise, they had reservations and were shown right to their table. When Steve had thrown out a casual, "Dinner? My treat?" Danny had expected Zippy's, or maybe Side Street, if Steve was feeling generous. 

Clearly Danny was missing something. But he was a detective, and he could figure it out without asking point blank. "So where'd you disappear to this morning?" Danny asked.

Steve's eyes had been going back and forth between the menu and Danny, but at the question, they focused on the menu. "Had an errand to run," he said shortly.

Interesting. "New girl was wondering," Danny said, as if it was just an offhand comment. "She asks a lot of questions, have you noticed that?"

Steve shrugged. "She's got a background in profiling, makes sense."

"Yeah, but her questions seem mostly centered around you."

The tightness in Steve's mouth loosened up enough for one corner to tick upwards. "Jealous?" Steve asked, glancing up at Danny through his lashes.

The look left Danny's mouth a little dry. He shrugged and cleared his throat. "She's not my type."

Steve's expression made it clear that he'd seen exactly what Danny had done, but he let it go. It wasn't as if it was new, this strange dance they were doing, the push and pull between flirting and plausible deniability. They'd known each other almost a year and it had been the same since the day they met.

Danny stopped to do the math. No, not almost a year. Exactly a year, to the day. 

"So..." Danny said carefully, "is this our first anniversary celebration?"

He'd meant it to come off as somewhat of a joke, but the words had a heaviness to them that didn't carry through with the intent. Steve didn't seem to mind, though, smiling, even though his eyes seemed a little sad as he said, "Yeah, well, I'd rather think of today as that anniversary...."

Oh. Really, sometimes Danny was an idiot. The anniversary of the day they met was also the anniversary of John McGarrett's funeral. "Oh babe," Danny said softly, putting his hand over Steve's on the table, stilling the twitching fingers. "Buy me a nice dinner and maybe we can make it an even more memorable anniversary?"

Something flared in Steve's eyes, and his smile turned into one that sent an answering heat through Danny's body. "Or we could skip dinner...."

Danny was tempted, but they needed a little time to be sure this was the right step. And he needed food if he was going to carry through on all the things he'd been dreaming of doing to Steve. "No way," Danny said, pulling his hand back and looking at the menu, but not before giving Steve a heated look. "I'd hate to have you thinking I was easy."

Steve's laugh sent another spike of heat through Danny. "Trust me, Danno, easy is one thing you'll never be."

\---  
END


	4. Day 4 - Dealing with an Injury

"Hey, Danny," Kono said, as she walked into his office, "do you have the Krowski case file?"

"Yeah." Danny leaned over his desk, wincing as his back tweaked. "Here you go."

Kono frowned at him as she took the file. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Danny said, holding his back as he sat back gingerly. "I just hurt my back last night."

He'd hoped that he could keep himself from blushing, but he could tell from Kono's amusement that he hadn't quite succeeded. "Last night?" she said, shifting her weight and leaning against the desk, as if she was planning to stay for a while. "How?"

"None of your business," Danny said, and now he could feel his face turning red.

Kono laughed. "Never mind," she said. "I think I can guess." She pushed off the desk. "Hope it gets better," she called over her shoulder, laughter still evident in her voice.

Danny shifted in the chair a few times and had just gotten comfortable when Chin walked in. "Hey, Danny, heard you got hurt."

"I wonder where you heard that?" Danny said.

"Kono said you hurt your back--just wondering if I could get you anything."

Yeah, right. Chin's eyes were laughing, even if he wasn't quite laughing out loud. "I'm good, thanks," Danny said.

"Let me know if I can help," Chin said. "How'd you say you hurt it again?"

"I fell off my bike."

For some reason that made Chin laugh loudly. "I hear riding can be tough," he said, through his laughter. "Hope it gets better."

He walked out, leaving Danny to wish his team was just a little less comfortable sometimes. He hadn't even managed to open the file on his computer when Grover walked in.

"I hear you hurt your back," Grover said. "How'd that happen?"

"It's classified," Danny said without looking up from his computer, because hey, that answer worked for Steve all the time. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

"If it's classified, I guess that means McGarrett had something to do with it," Grover said, as if it wasn't a shock. "You should make him make it up to you."

Danny actually looked up at that. "How so?"

"My wife always makes me wait on her hand and foot when I get her hurt."

"I never said Steve got me hurt."

"Mmmhm. You keep saying that, maybe somebody will buy it. Hope it's better soon."

Grover walked out, and Danny gave up, putting his head down on his desk until his back reminded him that was a little farther than it wanted to bend.

"Hey, Danny." Steve's voice came from somewhere near the door. "Why does everyone keep congratulating me for your back injury?"

Danny groaned. "Because I didn't tell them why it's hurt," he said as he looked up.

Steve thought about that for a second. "And why are they congratulating me?"

"Because they all assume that you were directly responsible.:

After a second, Steve's eyes widened. "That would explain why Kono said she knew a guy who could get me a good deal on a bed if I needed a new one."

"I am never leaving this office again," Danny said.

Steve's laugh was softer than the others. "You know, you could just tell them what really happened."

"No thank you. I'd rather them think it was in some sex act than because my daughter tried to teach me about twerking."

\---


	5. Day 5 - Helping with Insomnia

Danny flipped the pillow over for the hundredth time and punched it, trying to make it comfortable. He'd kicked the covers off earlier, but now he tried pulling them back up.

It didn't help.

Warm milk hadn't helped. Chamomile tea hadn't helped. He'd counted sheep until he'd lost count in the hundreds, but nothing had worked.

After sleeping weird hours on a week-long stakeout, working shifts with Steve, he was so happy to get back to his own bed and normal hours. But he'd gotten no sleep the first night back, and given that it was after three a.m., it looked like this night was going to be a bust as well.

He had to get some sleep. He could barely deal with Steve's driving on a full night's rest. Two nights of insomnia...well, he liked his partner enough not to want to kill him.

He liked his partner maybe a little too much.

He turned over again, staring at the clock. It had been so easy to fall asleep in small bedroom where they'd been observing their suspects. It was relatively quiet, and Steve's presence had been the opposite of what it was in the car, in that it had been soothing. 

Danny had grown used to the sounds Steve made, the pattern of his breathing, even his scent. And now....

Fuck it. He got up, grabbed his keys, and headed for the door.

***

Steve's house was dark--of course, it was 3:30 in the morning. But Danny let himself in, shutting off the alarm before it sounded and resetting it quickly. He climbed the stairs as quietly as he could, and walked into the bedroom to see Steve sitting straight up, pointing his gun.

"Jesus," Danny said, but he didn't stop moving until he reached the bed. "Try not to shoot your partner."

"Well what does my partner expect," Steve asked, as he put his gun back in the nightstand, "when he walks in unannounced in the middle of the night?"

Danny kicked off his shoes and flopped down on the bed, not bothering to get under the blankets. "I dunno," he said, face halfway into the pillow. "Ask me again when I'm awake?"

"Um...Danny?" Steve said, and he'd gone so still Danny almost wouldn't have known he was in the same bed. "What's going on?"

"Can't sleep," Danny said. "Two nights. Need sleep to deal with you."

There was a long pause before Steve drawled out, "Okay."

"Talk tomorrow," Danny said. "Sleep now."

Danny heard Steve's soft laugh, and an even softer, "Night, Danno," before he was out like a light. 

\---  
END


	6. Day 6 - Getting Wet

The loud thunk was a surprise. Even though Steve had known it was coming, the loudness still made him gasp as he went down into the water. Training kept him from swallowing a mouthful of the foul stuff, but his eyes still stung as he broke through the surface, pushing water off his face to get back up onto his perch.

He barely had time to get balanced before he was under again, more prepared this time. It was easier than his training had been, at least--though at this point his pride stung more than anything. 

Well, his pride and his wallet, he thought, as he went down for a third time. 

After the fourth time, he took his time resurfacing. When he did, he turned to see Danny standing on the other side of the cage, grinning from ear to ear. "And you said I couldn't dunk you four times in a row," Danny said. "Hope you didn't take your wallet in there with you and get your money wet, since you owe me dinner."

Steve gripped the holes in the cage of the dunking booth wall. "Double or nothing?" he said. 

Danny thought about it for a second, then shook his head. "Nope. You're not getting out of this."

"What's wrong, Danno? Afraid you can't hit it four more times?"

Danny shrugged. "You're on," he said, going back to the starting line and putting down more money for four more balls.

Steve climbed back onto the perch and waited. There was no way that anyone could be good enough to hit it eight times in a row. He had this in the bag.

_Thunk._

Or maybe not.

\---  
END


	7. Day 7 - Family Time

Danny watched as Grace and Charlie played in the surf, the sun just starting to set behind them making a perfect picture. He fished his phone out of his pocket and took a couple of pictures. He'd always taken pictures of Grace, but now with Charlie he was taking even more. 

Silly, really--it wasn't like pictures could make up for lost time. He just felt the need to hold on to every moment so much now. He hated that Charlie had gone through so much with his illness, but deep down a small part of Danny knew without that he'd have gone through his whole life never knowing he had a son.

Even on a good day it was hard not to hate Rachel sometimes.

"Hey," Steve said, sitting down in the chair beside Danny. He handed Danny a bottle of water. 

"Thanks," Danny said, taking the bottle, his eyes back on his kids.

"You okay?" Steve asked.

Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah," he said. "Just...thinking."

"That's a first."

"Haha. You're so very funny." But it did make Danny smile as he watched Grace carefully helping Charlie with a sandcastle turret.

"You’ve done good," Steve said after a few seconds. "You know that, right?"

Danny shrugged. "With Grace? Sure. But Charlie...."

"You're the reason he's out there playing, Danny," Steve said. "You gave him his health back. And no matter what happens, that kid is always gonna know his dad loves him. And there is nothing more that any kid wants than that from a father."

If anyone would know that, it would be Steve. "Yeah," Danny said, I guess, I just feel like I've missed so much already."

"Don't think about it," Steve said. "Think about all the stuff you still have ahead." Steve stood up. "Starting now," he said, tapping Danny on the knee. "Come on, let's go show them how to build a moat around the sand castle."

Danny watched Steve jog down to the sand and plop down between Grace and Charlie like a big kid. Within seconds they were laughing and digging around the edges of the castle. 

Danny downed half the bottle of water and set the rest on the table as he stood, before joining them on the beach. 

\----  
END


	8. Day 8 - Doing Research

"Steven?"

Danny's voice jolted Steve out of his thoughts. "Hm?"

"You do know," Danny said, pointing his pen at Steve, "that staring blindly out at nothing is not going to get us any closer to catching our killer."

"What?" Steve had been paying very close attention to his research. He'd dug into the files carefully, noting anything that might help them track the guy down.

And then he'd looked up and seen Danny chewing on a pen.

Steve wasn't even sure of the killer's name anymore.

"Hello?" Danny said, taking the pen out of his mouth again, which let Steve focus on words once more. "Earth to McGarrett."

"I'm thinking, Danny." _Yeah, about how much I'd like to be a pen._

Danny shook his head. "Maybe we should get some food so your brain can work again," he said, standing up, mercifully putting the pen down on the table.

"Want to order pizza?" Steve asked.

"Nah, I think there are hot dogs in the break room."

Danny went off to the break room, and Steve put his head on the table, bumping it lightly against the wood a few times.

Because a pen hadn't been bad enough. Hot dogs might just kill him. 

\---  
END


	9. Day 9 - Getting Lost

"Admit it," Danny hissed, grabbing Steve by the arm, "you have no idea where you're going."

Steve stopped long enough to glare at Danny. "I know exactly where I'm going." 

"Then why have we been here five--"

"Danny, if you want to go wait in the car, you can--"

"Steven, we live in Hawaii, if I wait in the car I'll get cooked."

"Then shut up and let me find--aha!" Steve picked up a case. "See?" he said, brandishing it in front of Danny's face. "I told you I knew where it was."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Would you put it down?"

"Why?" Steve asked. "Are you embarrassed?"

"After the way Chin and Kono looked at us when we said neither one of us had ever--"

"Well, in a couple of weeks, they won't."

Danny's eyes widened. "In a couple of weeks?"

"It's not like we can just binge, Danny. We have jobs."

"Fine," Danny said, taking the case out of Steve's hand. "Let's just buy the thing and get out of here." 

They found the counter and put the case down. The cashier looked at it, then stared at them, bug -eyed. "You've never seen Lost?"

"Just ring it up," Danny said, glaring daggers at Steve. "And don't ever tell Chin that we've never seen Pearl Harbor," Danny said, pointing a finger in Steve's face.

"Yes, Danny."

\---  
END


	10. Day 10 - Meeting with the Governor

"Detective Williams." 

Danny looked up to find Denning standing in the doorway. "Governor," Danny said, standing up. "Sorry, I, uh--"

Denning waved him off. "It's okay, Detective," Denning said, stepping into the room. Danny saw the aide remain just outside the door at a discrete distance. "Lieutenant Kelly called and told me you were here and I said we could reschedule the meeting." 

Danny nodded. "Thank you." 

"How is he?" Denning asked.

Danny looked down at Steve's still body in the hospital bed. "He came out of surgery about an hour ago," Danny said. He'd grown used to the beeping of the machines already, but he still wanted to get away from them as quickly as he could. Wanted to get Steve away. "They're..." he couldn't use the doctor's word, couldn't bring himself to just be 'hopeful.' "They say he should wake up soon."

Denning nodded. "Please have someone let me know when he wakes up," he said. "And if there's anything I can do to help, let my office know."

"Thank you," Danny said. "Chin will handle things at Five-0 for a few days."

"Fine, I'll coordinate with him if anything comes up." 

Denning held out his hand and Danny shook it, watching until the door closed behind him. Danny sat down by Steve's bed, taking his hand once more. 

"You'd better wake up," Danny said. "Because I am not going to be the one to explain why I was practically laying on your bed, holding your hand when the governor walked in."

He felt the slight movement in Steve's hand a moment before Steve's eyes fluttered open. "Figures," Steve said, his voice thin and raspy but so, so good to hear, "you'd want me to wake up to do all the explaining."

Danny laughed through the first good breath he'd taken in hours.

\---  
END


	11. Day 11 - Blind

Steve pulled his surfboard off the truck, tucking it under his arm and turning towards the garage. He put it in its spot when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.

He turned to see Mrs. Kamaka standing behind him, slightly stooped, wearing her wide-rimmed gardening hat he remembered from when he was a kid. "Hiya Steve."

"Hey, Mrs. Kamaka," Steve said. "How are you?"

"Good," she said, nodding. "Good. You?"

"Good," Steve said. "Just got back from surfing."

Seeing as how she'd just seen him put up his board, he probably hadn't needed to elaborate, but she looked like she was waiting for something. "Look, Steve," she said slowly, putting him on guard. "I just wanted you to know...your father...he would be happy that you found someone."

"What?"

"Your Danny," she said.

Danny must have made quite an impression on her--he'd introduced them once a couple of years ago and they'd waved a few times, but that was about it. He wasn't sure how she'd figured out they were together, but then as much as Danny's car was here all night a lot, he supposed that wasn't that hard to figure out. 

"Thank you," Steve said, resisting the urge to shuffle his feet like a teenager. "I appreciate that."

"And I'm happy for you, too," she said. "It's about time this house had some life and some kids around again."

Steve smiled at that. "I agree," he said quietly. "It's been too long."

She nodded. "There's just one thing...."

When she didn't continue, he said, "What's that?"

"You might want to close your blinds at night."

Steve blinked. "What?"

"It's just that my sister is visiting, and she likes to take walks on the beach at night, and last night she came back with an...interesting story."

He could feel the blush heating his whole body all at once as he remembered in great detail just what he and Danny had been up to in the dining room. "Oh, Mrs. Kamaka, I, uh...yeah. We'll close the blinds," Steve said, the words tripping over each other. "Please tell your sister I'm sorry."

She laughed. "Believe me, honey," she said, patting him on the hand, "she wasn't complaining." 

"I, uh...."

"Have a nice afternoon, Steve," she said, still laughing as she turned and walked away.

\---  
END


	12. Day 12 - Staring

"This movie is ridiculous," Danny said, when he couldn't hold back any longer. Not that he had any complaints about his current situation other than that--sunk into Steve's comfy couch, warm and cozy, with Steve pressed all along his left side as they watched was his second favorite place to be when it came to Steve.

But the movie was ridiculous.

"What's ridiculous, Danny?"

"Of course you'd defend it," Danny said, turning his head enough to see Steve clearly without losing that comfortable warmth beside him. "I mean, I realize that the Army is secondary to the Navy, but still, it's the armed forces. You're, like, sworn to defend even the dumbest thing they ever did, right?"

Steve just raised an eyebrow. 

"I mean, really, Steven. The Army actually sanctioned a program where people stared at goats all day and tried to blow them up?"

Steve raised both eyebrows.

"Who would have approved such a thing?" Danny asked. "Who thought, 'Hey, I know what will look _great_ come re-election time, if I approve money for a stare at goats project!'?"

Both eyebrows dropped, but Steve just continued to look at Danny, offering no argument either way.

"I get that the military seems to think that mind over matter can conquer anything. But you have to admit that this is a ridiculous idea."

Steve continued to just look at him.

"I mean, no one can blow something up with the power of their mind, not even your extra-insane little club of over-achievers. Besides, if they were going to put anyone through that, you'd be the first group they'd call, what with your 'I can move that mountain if I glare at it hard enough,' mentality." 

Steve's lack of comment was not disturbing at all, nor was the way he just kept looking at Danny. It was in no way reminding him of the movie, with the guys who just sat there and stared...a lot like that.

"Cut it out!" Danny smacked Steve on the thigh with the back of his hand. "You'll make my head explode or something."

Steve cocked one corner of his mouth up in his cockiest grin and turned his attention back to the movie.  
\---  
END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you aren't familiar, the movie is The Men Who Stare at Goats. You should see it. It's entertaining.


	13. Day 13 - In Love

Danny was just about finished with his report when he heard a knock at his door. He looked up to see Steve walking in. "Hey," Steve said, bypassing the chair in favor of perching on the corner of Danny's desk. 

Danny was sure that the desk was actually worn in that spot after several years. 

"Hey." Danny leaned back in his chair, admiring the view as Steve folded his arms over his chest, his biceps straining against the sleeves of his polo. 

"You doing anything next weekend?"

Danny shook his head. "Rachel has the kids. Why?" 

"I have tickets to a game," Steve said. "Thought you might want to go."

"I thought UH was out of town next weekend."

Steve scratched at the back of his neck, not quite meeting Danny's eyes. "No, it's not UH. But it's kind of out of town."

Danny studied Steve for a moment. "Steven."

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

Steve met Danny's eyes. "I have tickets to the Chargers and Jets next Sunday."

"Excuse me?" Danny leaned forward. "As in the New York Jets?" At Steve's nod, Danny said, "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Steve uncrossed his arms and dropped the tickets on the desk.

Danny picked them up, staring at them for a second as if they might disappear. His eyes landed on the date, September 11, his gut having that visceral reaction it sometimes got when he saw that particular date. 

Though he realized, looking back, that the last few years that day had been filled with distractions. By Steve. 

"So is this an invite to go away for the weekend, then?" Danny asked, looking up at Steve through his lashes. 

Steve shrugged. "Well, it's over the weekend and it's away, so...."

Danny gripped the arms of his chair to keep from getting up and giving the guy a huge hug--even if only because he was afraid of what else they might get up to if he got his hands on Steve right now. "I think that sounds like a great idea."

"Good." Steve pushed off the desk, giving Danny that smile that made Danny have to grip the chair even tighter. "Good. I'll go get plane tickets." 

"Hey," Danny said, as Steve reached the door. Steve turned, one eyebrow raised, and Danny said, "Thank you."

Seriously, that smile was going to kill Danny. "Don't mention it."

\---  
END


	14. Day 14 - In Peril

Danny searched the shelves, looking for the familiar label. When he found it, he tossed a can of cranberries into the cart. 

"What are you doing?" 

Steve sounded as if Danny had just opened a bank vault and ushered thieves in. "I'm shopping for Thanksgiving dinner?" Danny said.

"Danny, canned cranberries have no place on a Thanksgiving table in Hawaii. Or anywhere, for that matter."

"Hey, it's been good enough for my family for my whole life."

"And it's a wonder you've survived." Steve put the cranberries back on the shelf. "They have fresh ones a few aisles away if you absolutely have to have cranberries."

Danny folded his arms over his chest and glared at the can, as if it had magically transported itself, then at Steve. "Maybe I don't want fresh cranberries," Danny said, hands balling into fists where they hid under his arms. "Maybe my best Thanksgiving memories every involve cranberries that still have the impression of the can."

Steve's face looked like he'd just tasted a lemon while smelling his own combat boots. "That's disgusting."

"Says the man who puts butter in coffee and drinks green grass drinks."

"Wheat grass, Danny," Steve said, still pushing the cart down the aisle, heedless of the fact that he was about to get punched. "Wheat grass. And you should try it. It's good for you."

"I swear to God, Steven, if you extol the virtues of drinking disgusting stuff because someone said it was good for you one more time, I'm gonna--"

"Oh hey!" Steve said. "Here's the stuffing."

He tossed it into the cart and Danny blinked, sure he was seeing things wrong. "Rice stuffing?" he asked. "Stuffing with rice?"

"Sure. It's better for you."

"What's wrong with regular stuffing with bread?" Danny said through clenched teeth. 

"It's bad for you."

"Every day, sure," Danny said, feeling like they'd had this conversation before. "But this is not every day, Steve. This is Thanksgiving."

Steve wore the same look he got every time Danny said he didn't like smoothies. "But healthy eating is an important habit."

"Steven," Danny said slowly, trying to hold onto his patience. "This is my first Thanksgiving with Charlie. I want him to get a feel for what a Williams Thanksgiving is like. Do you get that?"

The confused look deepened. "Danny, he has the best dad and the best big sister the Williams family has ever handed out. He's gonna know exactly what a Williams Thanksgiving is like, no matter what we eat."

Danny blinked, his anger disappearing in a rush. "Oh."

The confused look was gone, replaced with a soft smile that made Danny's stomach flip. "Besides, if we eat the good stuff for dinner, the bakery here makes an amazing Death by Chocolate desert," Steve said, nudging Danny's shoulder. "Deal?"

"Okay," Danny said. "But we're getting regular stuffing."

\---  
END


	15. Day 15 - Visiting Another Country

Steve blinked a few times, wincing as the light hit his eyes and made it feel like an ice pick was stabbing him in the forehead. 

"Hey, Steve."

It didn't matter that it was a whisper; Steve would know Danny's voice anywhere. "Danny...." Bits and pieces of memories flitted through Steve's brain, and Danny was not there. "Where'd you come from?"

"Took us a while to find you," Danny whispered, and now Steve could feel Danny's hands pulling at Steve's shoulders. "Come on, we have to get you up off the floor."

"'S comfy," Steve said, his head hurting worse when Danny pulled him up.

"No, Steven, floors are never comfy. Come on." 

Danny pulled Steve to his feet, and Steve opened his eyes enough to look around. "Where'm I?"

"Basement of the Chinese embassy," Danny whispered, getting himself situated under Steve's arm. "Courtesy of our suspect's father, who thought it would be better to kidnap you and bring you here than let you tell anyone you'd found the smoking gun--literally."

"Kidnap?"

"Yes, kidnap. And be quiet."

"Am quiet," Steve whispered back.

"Good. Stay that way," Danny said. "Lucky for you he didn't check your phone to see you'd already texted me the info. Didn't take us long to figure out where to find you."

Steve leaned heavily on Danny as they made their way to a door. "How long was I here?" he whispered.

"About a day." Danny sounded pissed about that fact. "It may not have taken us long to figure out where to find you, but it took us a little time to figure out how to get you out, especially when they kept claiming you weren't here."

Steve stumbled into a chair, knocking it over, wincing at the sound.

"Be careful," Danny hissed. "Figures, I'd get you at the one time you're not your Ninja self."

"Why do I need to be a Ninja?"

Danny pushed the door open and checked the hallway, gun first, before helping Steve through. "Because we had to break in to rescue you, which means that technically, as the Embassy is foreign soil, we're invading China right now, and I really don't want to know what our life expectancy is if they find us."

Steve started to answer, then decided that maybe silence was the best idea.

\---  
END


	16. Day 16 - Celebrating a Holiday

Danny stretched slowly, savoring the feeling. Not just the stretch, but the luxury of not having to get up and go to work. There was still a chance they'd get called in, but he was hopeful that maybe, just maybe they'd get a whole day off.

He stretched again, this time moving closer to Steve to feel their skin slide together, warm and comfortable under the covers. Steve turned onto his side, facing Danny, a sleepy smile on his face. "Morning," Steve said, sliding a leg over both of Danny's and pulling him closer."

Danny leaned in for a kiss before muttering, "Morning," against Steve's lips.

"Do you realize," Steve said, his hand dipping down to cup Danny's ass, "how long it's been since we've actually been able to sleep in?"

"Well, sleeping with the king of pre-dawn exercise makes that difficult," Danny said.

"Mmm." Steve nuzzled at Danny's neck. "I have a very demanding exercise regimen this morning," Steve said. "But I think you'll like it."

Danny's breath hitched at a sharp nip to his neck. "This is my kind of exercise," he said, a moment before his phone dinged with a text message, and he groaned. 

"Ignore it," Steve said, lips moving against Danny's shoulder.

"Kids," Danny said, reaching for the phone blindly, his hand smacking around on the nightstand behind him until he found it. He glanced at it over top of Steve's head.

Steve lifted his head, knocking the phone out of the way. "Please tell me we didn't get a case."

Danny shook his head. "Rachel wants me to pick up the kids at lunch, since I'm off work."

Steve grinned. "Good, we can take them swimming."

He sounded so excited about it, which reminded Danny all over again why he loved the guy. "Only if you promise not to let Charlie jump off your shoulders again."

"But Danny, he--"

"No 'but Danny' anything. Consider yourself a carnival ride with a minimum height rule of 48 inches."

Steve's frown was too pronounced to be real. "But Danno, doesn't that mean you can't ride me?"

"I will end your...." Danny always lost the power of coherent speech when Steve found that one spot, and the bastard knew it...and yet somehow Danny could no longer find it in himself to care. 

By the time Steve lifted his head and grinned down at Danny, he'd forgotten what he was angry about in the first place. "We have a couple of hours before we need to leave to get the kids," Steve said, and Danny loved how it was a foregone conclusion for Steve that he was going along. "How should we spend them?"

Danny pushed, rolling Steve onto his back and settling in on top. "Why don't I show you?"

\---  
END


	17. Day 17 - On Vacation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little behind, so I'm trying to play catch up. Real life can be a bitch sometimes.

Steve pulled the covers over his head as the banging started on the door. He kept his eyes closed, burrowing closer to Danny under the blankets. "'S too early," he muttered.

Danny's laughter shook the bed. "I never thought you, of all people, would complain about getting up too early."

"No," Steve countered, "it's not the getting up that's the problem. It's what we're getting up to go do. It's too early."

Danny pulled Steve into his arms and into a kiss. "It's never too early to get up if it makes your kids happy," Danny said.

Steve sighed as the banging started again, accompanied by the shouts of Grace and Charlie that they had to go right now or the world would end. Or something like that. "Fine," he said, sounding more annoyed than he really was.

Danny was right. It was never too early to get up for the people you loved. And if that meant leaving for Disneyland before the sun was even up, so be it. 

\---  
END


	18. Day 18 - Eating

"Are you seriously going to put that in your mouth?"

Steve regretted the words the moment they were said, because he could see that devilish look on Danny's face, and knew exactly what Danny was thinking. "Funny," Danny said, his voice deliberately low, and Steve was going to kill him for it, "you don't usually complain about what I put in my mouth."

Steve looked around, quelling his body's reaction to that. "Do you even know what's in that?" he said, sticking to his original point, the one where he didn't want Danny to die of a coronary before he reached 50.

"Steven," Danny said, "it's Disneyland. The one place where we can eat like kids for a day and not keel over." 

"Danny, heart disease is the--"

Danny put a hand over Steve's mouth. "No talking about heart disease at Disneyland, okay? Look, the way you make sure I eat 99 percent of the time, I promise you, one day of eating like this is not going to matter. So, no more talking about what we eat today, okay? Nod if you understand me."

After a few seconds, Steve nodded, and Danny removed his hand. "Good," Danny said, before taking a big bite of his corn dog.

Steve felt someone tugging on his shorts. "Uncle Steve?" Charlie said, as Steve looked down at him. "Can I have a cheddar cheese stick?"

"Sure, buddy," Steve said, taking Charlie's hand. "Let's go get one."

\---  
END


	19. Day 19 - Listening to Music

"I am going to rip my ear drums out," Steve hissed in Danny's ear. 

Danny shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"We've been sitting in the same spot listening to this song for fifteen minutes, Danny."

Danny twisted in his seat, still keeping one eye on Grace and Charlie in the front seat of the car, his other eye on Steve. "You've spent months stuck on a boat," Danny said. "I would think that being stuck in one would be nostalgic for you."

"Okay, a, this is not a boat. It's a car riding around on a track that has water surrounding it. And b, when I was on that boat, no one was torturing me with this song."

"But Steven, we're even stuck in the Hawaiian section. I mean, you're always telling me how wondrous and amazing Hawaii is, this must be fantastic for you."

"Danny, whoever designed this 'Hawaiian' section never visited Hawaii, clearly." Steve looked around, as if it wasn't already burned onto his retinas. "As far as I can tell, they watched the Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii episode, took some LSD, and designed this hell."

"Language," Danny said, even though Steve had kept his voice low. "Look, Grace and Charlie are still enjoying it." Danny nodded at the front seat. "Just be glad they haven't gotten bored yet, or then you'd really know what hell is," he added in a whisper.

Steve stared at him for a moment. "You complain about everything," Steve said. "How is this music not driving you insane?"

"Trust me," Danny replied, "spend fourteen hours in the car on a road trip listening to the same ten Disney songs on repeat so your daughter won't scream and you can learn to tune out anything."

\---  
END


	20. Day 20 - Watching Sports

Steve glanced over at Danny, who was watching the hockey game as if the world depended on it. This was not going according to plan. He’d told Danny ahead of time that he was recording the Devils game, so don’t check the score. They’d managed to avoid any mention of it, and now, here they were, on the couch, the lights out except for the TV, and Danny was focused on the game, and not on Steve.

It wasn’t going according to plan because Steve had planned too well.

Maybe he could still salvage this, though. He slid his arm carefully behind Danny, a move he’d done half a dozen times without Danny getting the hint. But this time he would get the hint. This time Steve would hint until Danny had no choice but to get it.

“Can you believe that?” Danny said, waving at the TV. “That ref is blind!”

 _The ref isn’t the only one._ Steve sunk down into the couch a little more, pressing their bodies more solidly together. Danny responded, sinking into Steve instinctively, like it was nothing, like they fit together.

Which they did, even if Danny hadn’t figured it out yet. 

Steve slid his hand forward just a little, resting it on Danny’s other shoulder. Steve ducked his head nose so close to Danny’s ear that he could almost feel Danny’s pulse in his neck. Another inch and Danny would definitely get a clue.

“Oh come on!” Danny jumped up, and Steve fell sideways onto the couch. “Did you see that?” Danny asked, turning around to look down at Steve. “That was interference! My grandmother could’ve seen that it was interference! Did you see that?” 

“Uh…no,” Steve said. “Sorry, I missed it.”

Danny shook his head. “You clearly need another beer. I’ll go get us both one.”

Steve watched him go, admiring Danny’s ass even with a sideways view. For someone so observant of hockey, Danny really was blind when it came to other things. Oh well. Steve had the rest of the game to get his point across. 

And the nice thing about hockey was the long intermissions. 

\---  
END


	21. Day 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will finish this, even if it takes 30 weeks instead of 30 days.

Danny punched the pillow and shifted, trying to get comfortable. He’d never liked sleeping on this couch, not even in the days when it had been the only bed he had. But the couch had been a free bed, and it had come with a few extra perks, like mostly naked Steve McGarrett in the morning.

Only now, he had a perfectly nice bed upstairs, with someone he cared about in it, and here he was again.

He should’ve insisted harder that Steve be the one to sleep on the couch.

He turned over, facing the back of the couch. Fuck Steve anyway. Which led to a whole series of images that did nothing to make the couch more comfortable. Or Danny’s sweats.

He turned over again and pulled the blanket up over his head. He didn’t want to turn the TV on because he’d wake up the household, and as much as he’d like to wake up Steve—

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, but Danny stayed under the blanket. It didn’t have to be Steve, but Danny knew Steve. It was him. 

The footsteps continued across the floor to the couch—really, how was this guy some sort of Ninja SEAL if he couldn’t even walk around his own house quietly? The couch dipped, then Danny found himself sliding slowly forward, a strong arm around him to keep him from falling into the floor.

Steve’s warmth pressed in behind him, the feel and scent of him surrounding Danny as Steve wrapped his arms and legs around Danny. The blanket came off Danny’s head, and Steve’s lips pressed against Danny’s ear.

“I’m sorry,” Steve whispered. “It’s just—we’re new, and—“

“And you don’t want anyone to know because we’ll be over soon?” Danny whispered back. The words had a lot less heat than he’d intended, but he couldn’t miss the uncertainty in his own voice. 

“No!” For all that the word was whispered—more or less—Danny heard the horror behind it. “Danny…she’s my sister. I was going to tell her on the way in from the airport, but…I froze.”

Danny rolled over carefully, eyes meeting Steve’s in the moonlight. “And then, what, you froze the rest of the night, too?”

“There just wasn’t a right time, and then I panicked. I’m sorry. She doesn’t even know I’m anything but straight, let alone that you and I are….” 

“See? You can’t even say it to me.”

Steve’s resolved face slammed into place. “She doesn’t know that I’m in love with you.”

Oh. Well. As apologies went…. “I suppose that’s a decent apology,” Danny said, shifting against Steve just to feel the brush of skin where their shirts had rucked up. “For a start.”

Steve’s hand dipped down to Danny’s ass, pulling him closer. “Let me make it up to you?”

“On the couch, Steven? But Mary might come out of her room and see.”

Steve shrugged. “Let her,” he said, guiding Danny’s ass so their cocks brushed. “I’m telling her at breakfast anyway.”

Danny allowed one kiss before he pulled back. “Okay, upstairs.”

“What, you don’t want her to know?”

“Know? Yes,” Danny said, getting up and pulling Steve to his feet. “Walk in on what I’m about to do to you?” he asked pulling Steve towards the stairs. “No. Not at all. Some things siblings should not see. Trust me.”

Steve laughed. “That sounds like a story.”

“Yes. One that I will tell you later.” Danny paused for another kiss at the top of the landing. “Much, much later.”

“Can’t wait.”

\---  
END


	22. Day 22 - Watching TV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve discovers Danny's guilty pleasure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's not exactly in 30 days, but I WILL get them done!

Steve settled into Danny’s couch as best he could. He would never admit it, but he was always more comfortable on home turf. It wasn’t fair to Danny, though, so he’d manned up and started spending time at Danny’s house—even if it meant giving up his morning swim.

It wasn’t like he was complaining about the alternate morning exercise in bed.

The silence still rattled him a little, so obvious when he was used to the ocean as background noise. He could hear Danny in the bathroom, even that sounding loud in the silent room. Steve flipped the TV on for noise—Danny had recorded the game the night before, and even though they knew the score, at least it would be background noise.

He frowned at the long list of a single show on the DVR screen as Danny’s footsteps got louder. Steve hit play on one, eyebrows raising at the previously on recap. “Daniel,” Steve said, without looking over his shoulder, “what is this?”

The footsteps stopped, but it was a moment before Danny said, “Oh, Grace likes it for the cheerleading.” 

Steve found the remote ripped out of his hand, which, combined with Danny’s tone, made it obvious that it wasn’t Grace who’d recorded the show. “That’s funny,” Steve said, as Danny stopped the program, and the list returned to the screen. “Grace has been gone for two days, and this was just recorded yesterday.”

Danny dropped onto the couch beside Steve before shrugging. “I might have checked it out.”

Oh yes, definitely a lie. Steve made a grab for the remote, but Danny was ready for it. By the time Steve wrestled the remote away, Danny was on his back on the floor, Steve half on the couch and half on Danny. They’d hit buttons in the process, and Steve looked up to see a different previously recap. He was about to hit stop when one guy grabbed another and kissed him. “Oh,” Steve said, watching as they went at it against the wall. “I see.”

***

“What?” Steve said, staring at the screen. “The season ended there?”

Danny ate the last of the popcorn. “The season premiere starts in half an hour.”

“Great,” Steve said. “You get more popcorn. I’ll order pizza.”

\-------------

**Author's Note:**

> Want to learn more about my writing? Visit [jamiemeadowswrites.com](http://www.jamiemeadowswrites.com)


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